


like an old, untreated wound (that's here to stay)

by petroltogo



Series: Bitter Sunday [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aftermath, Bitter Sunday, But He Goes About It All Wrong, But Some Of Them Do, Civil War fallout, Clint is an ass, Consequences, Forgiveness Is Never Deserved, Gen, Natasha Romanov Friendly, Not All Problems Lead Back To Tony, Pissed Natasha, Post Captain America: Civil War, Post Civil War, Protective Natasha, Steve Tries To Fix Things, Steve means well, Team Cap Critical, Team Iron Man, Team Tony, That Poor Apple Pie Tho, The Author is Bitter™, Tony Needs a Hug, bad language, i guess?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-23 00:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10708230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petroltogo/pseuds/petroltogo
Summary: "Coming back, signing documents that are pointedly not called The Revised Accords, it’s like slapping a bandage on an inflamed wound so you don’t have to look at it anymore, and hope it will heal."Do you know what happens when you've made a mess?Because Natasha does. (Because Steve doesn't.)





	like an old, untreated wound (that's here to stay)

**Author's Note:**

> Written in response to an ask by @lady-may-driu on tumblr.

It doesn’t start in New York.

By the time they finally get back to New York–it takes three months longer than Natasha initially expected–she’s already close to the end of her rope. Only the merciless training of her childhood and the years of hard work as a spy keep her from completely losing her shit. Because Wakanda may be a nice place, a pleasant exile even, but it is still a cage in its own right, as golden as the bars may be. There's also the negligible fact that she has to spend five months listening to Lang’s whining, Clint’s endless complaints, watch Steve stare tragically sad into nothingness–or at a phone that doesn’t ring, and really, she could’ve told him that from the start–and endure Wanda’s temper tantrums.

The amount of biting replies she swallows down should have killed her by now. They have certainly been poisonous enough.

So getting back to New York, to their old compound, is a relief. It means Natasha can avoid the others for weeks to no end if she wants to–and boy does she ever want, she’s seen far too much of them lately. It helps. The lack of a golden cage, the freedom, the distance. Helps all of them. Eases some of the tension that's been unavoidably building up.

But while it may help, it doesn’t actually solve any of their problems.

And there are problems. And she isn't just talking about the tension between Tony and the others, or her and the others for that matter. That is to be expected, but it's only the tip of an increasingly visible iceberg. There are a lot of issues that have never been resolved. Arguments they couldn’t have when they were all scooped up in Wakanda and unable to stay out of each other’s way for long. Coming back, signing documents that are pointedly _not_ called The Revised Accords, it’s like slapping a bandage on an inflamed wound so you don’t have to look at it anymore, and hope it will heal.

But every now and then they accidentally brush against said untreated wound and the pain flares up again, reminding everyone that it’s _there_ and it’s _staying_.

Like when Clint calls Laura and she lets it go to voicemail. Or when Sam tries to ask about how Rhodey is doing without making it awkward, and fails spectacularly. Or when Tony flinches away from Steve.

It’s only the last one though that really gets Natasha’s blood boiling. It’s there right from the start, when Tony symbolically shakes Steve’s hand for the press, and even though he’s smiling, his body is all _tense muscles ready to jump_. It doesn’t get better after that.

There are moments where Steve tries to reach out, to fix whatever it is that's been broken between them, that are almost physically painful to watch. When he rests a hand on Tony’s shoulder and the poor man almost jumps out of his skin for example. (They’ve lost a lot off cups to that particular move.) Or when Steve insists on picking the seat closest to Tony, only to have Tony be tense and defensive thorough the whole meeting. The list goes on.

Steve isn’t doing it out of cruelty, that much Natasha is willing to grant him. He’s honestly, desperately trying to fix things between them, to bridge the unacknowledged gap in the team. He’s apologised multiple times–and he’s meant every word of it. Natasha has no doubt that his regret is genuine.

But the thing is? Regret isn’t going to change the past.

And Steve, Steve is so focused on _fixing_ , he doesn’t even seem to realise that all he really does when using force, is _break_. Because it’s so clear, written all over Tony’s face and body language, how uncomfortable he is. And yet Steve keeps pushing and pushing, for a resolution that can’t happen by backing Tony into a corner.

The issue comes to a head when Steve tries to hand Tony a plate with a piece of apple pie. It’s an innocent enough action on the surface, but Natasha can see Tony literally freezing in place from the other side of the kitchen. And really, the action is anything but innocent in every way that matters.

“Grow up, Stark!” Clint mutters from somewhere behind her. “Just take the damn plate!”

Natasha doesn't bother suppressing the displeased curls of her lips. Punching the man won't fix anything, but damn if it wouldn't be _satisfying_. It's not going to help Tony though, and right now he looks like he desperately needs some. She’s going to kick Clint's ass later. 

Tony doesn’t take it. His wide eyes flicker back and forth between the plate Steve’s holding out with a pleading expression and the nearest door that will grant him an escape from the situation. Being put on the spot like this only makes him more anxious, makes the slight tremble in his hands more visible, and Natasha has had enough.

“Give me that!” she snaps, rips the plate out of Steve’s hand and throws it onto the ground. The plate shatters. Steve gapes at her but she doesn’t even let him get the question out. “I’m sick of this shit you’re pulling here!” she continues in a righteous fury that’s been building up for six months and finally found an outlet. 

“You need to back up, Steve! I don’t care how many times you’ve tried to reach out to Tony, you don’t have a right towards his friendship or his trust and you’ve done _fucking shit_ to earn it! You need to learn to respect his feelings instead of bulldozing past them, just because they don’t happen to suit you! Because you know what happens when you push? This!” She points at the mess of pie and sharp shards at her feet. “And you know what you do when you make a mess? You apologise and _clean it up_! And you don’t use force to do it!”

She’s breathing hard by the end of her rant, but when she turns around to face Tony, the hesitant smile on her face is genuine. “Let’s get out of here,” she says, and it’s a question filled with all the things she hasn’t been able to voice yet.

Tony doesn’t lean towards her the way he used to, stays out of her reach even, but he smiles, just as hesitantly, and nods. 

“Lead the way,” he says.

And they’ve got a lot to talk about and even more to work through, but it’s a start.

“Aren’t you gonna clean that up?” Clint yells somewhere behind them. Natasha doesn’t even bother to turn around.

“I haven’t seen anyone else taking responsibility for the mess they’ve made,” she throws over her shoulder with all the sugary pleasantness of a Black Widow about to reveal her true face. “Why should I?”

There’s no answer but then she didn’t expect one anyways. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you've enjoyed this new instalment! I know it's different from the previous ones, but I don't think a little variation hurts. Also, prepare yourself because next week will be different. It will be a LOT darker than all previous bitter Sunday works, definitely not everybody's cup of tea. But for now, you're very welcome to share your thoughts on this one! ;)
> 
> If you're interested you're welcome to check out my Tony-centric blog on tumblr: [tonystarktogo](http://tonystarktogo.tumblr.com/). And of course my other works on this profile :)


End file.
